. The Eastern Bering Sea Shelf : oceanography and resources / edited by Donald W. Hood and John A. Calder. Oceanography Bering Bering Sea ice-edge phenomena 209 -^-^p^ Figure 12-25. An aerial view from 50 m of tiie green floe as it appeared 23 hours after the target Consequences of the band motion Table 12-2, which Usts the air and water properties measured near the band during the period of our observations, shows that as the band moved south, it moved into warmer, more saline water. At the beginning of the experiment the water temperature was — C, and the salinity was 31


. The Eastern Bering Sea Shelf : oceanography and resources / edited by Donald W. Hood and John A. Calder. Oceanography Bering Bering Sea ice-edge phenomena 209 -^-^p^ Figure 12-25. An aerial view from 50 m of tiie green floe as it appeared 23 hours after the target Consequences of the band motion Table 12-2, which Usts the air and water properties measured near the band during the period of our observations, shows that as the band moved south, it moved into warmer, more saline water. At the beginning of the experiment the water temperature was — C, and the salinity was °/oo. At the end of the 23 hours, the ice was in water of— C and a salinity of *^/00. In both cases, the freezing temperature of the water was about — C. The water temperature ranged from + to + degrees above freezing and we observed the ice to melt. TABLE 12-2 Water and air properties observed from the ship near the band Elapsed Air Water Salinity Freezing Time Temperature Temperature Point (h) rc) CO 0/00 (°C) 0 4 9 23 Average Since the band was relatively long and thin, lateral melting may have been of some importance, but vertical melting was most likely dominant because of the larger exposed surface area. Another form of melting is wave-induced; the waves fracture the ice floes, thereby creating for each floe a larger ratio of surface area to volume. Waves breaking over the ice can also cause melting of the upper surface. Wave- induced melting was visible along the windward and swellward edges of the band (Fig. 12-24). In sum- mary, our observations suggest that these long thin bands of small floes rapidly melt in the warmer water. From satellite images one can perceive the im- portance of this melting regime on a larger scale. In consecutive images, interior ice features are seen to move to the south or southwest throughout mos


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